Manita Timilsina, Netra Prakash Bhandary and Ryuichi Yatabe

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, 3 Bunkyo, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan

Ranjan Kumar Dahal

Department of Geology, Tri-Chandra Campus, Tribhvuan University, Ghantaghar, Kathmandu, Nepal

Study of large-scale landslides in Nepal has been largely descriptive and qualitative and limited to site specific cases. This paper describes some preliminary efforts focusing on the understanding of large-scale landslides, their processes and mechanisms that contribute to instability and catastrophic failure in a regional scale. It also reports the use of geographical information system (GIS) database, compiled primarily from aerial photographs and field visits, to describe the physical characteristics of landslides and the statistical correlations between landslide frequency and terrain variables in the Lesser Himalayan Zone of central Nepal. To this end, large-scale landslide database covering a regional area of the Lesser Himalayan Zone is prepared and discussed in terms of their geological and topographical controls with morphometric characteristics.